Newtown Action Alliance mulls gun reform

NEWTOWN -- In a medium-sized meeting room on the second floor of Edmond Town Hall the voice of the silent majority who want gun law reform got a little louder.

Formed just two weeks ago, the Newtown Action Alliance strategized Thursday how to best effect change in gun laws at the state level - and later, the federal level. Voters, parents, politicians, and those touched by the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary attended, discussing the best ways to communicate the message of gun law reform.

Marty Isaac, president of the Connecticut Against Gun Violence advocacy group, was a main speaker, offering advice on how to lobby for gun law reforms. Nearly every seat in the meeting room was filled.

Isaac reminded attendees that reform will not be easy. Isaac took over at CAGV around the time of the Gabby Giffords shooting in Arizona. He relayed how he thought at that time getting high-capacity gun magazines banned might be achievable.

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"I thought, 'How hard could it be?'" he said. It was hard, which he discovered when he went to a hearing on the issue and was outnumbered by hundreds. "I was certainly not overly-educated [on the issue] at the time."

But that doesn't mean everyone else will find the same problem, he said. With the right amount of action and focus, he encouraged that change could happen. It will be key, he said, to harness the power of the silent majority of voters and community members who want gun laws changed.

Group members could ask practical questions about getting their voices heard: what's the most effective way to contact a legislator? Do you follow up if you get a form letter response? What do you do if your legislator is staunchly pro-gun?

State Rep. Debra-Lee Hovey, R-Newtown, was singled out by attendees as one legislator whose pro-gun views are challenging to the group's aims. One suggestion was to remind pro-gun legislators continually that they are one-issue voters - and that so are all their friends and neighbors.

Nancy Lefkowitz, co-founder of the March for Change, an action group for gun law reform, implored attendees to come to a planned Feb. 14 march at the Capitol. Lefkowitz identified herself as a mother who was moved by the Sandy Hook shooting to organize and take action.

"We have to keep talking about [gun law reforms]," she said, likening it to safety movements that got seatbelts in cars and cigarettes banned indoors. "You can exercise your rights to participate in this."

The march begins at 11 a.m. on the north steps of the Capitol, and will include speeches from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Attorney General George Jepsen, Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, and many others.

"Our hearts are broken, and we want to remind the Legislature that we're not going anywhere," Lefkowitz said.